28 African countries, 40,000 km for Save the Children
As a child I was lucky to travel extensively and was bitten by the proverbial travel bug from which I have never recovered. Consequently, over the last thirty years I have lived and worked in the UK, Kenya, Swaziland, Seychelles and South Africa and travelled around more than seventy countries on five continents.
I have also explored the oceans having sailed extensively around the Indian Ocean whilst working on a yacht as well as circling the entire globe working on a ship. As well as a Masters Degree in Anthropology from Edinburgh University I am also a qualified teacher (T.E.F.L), cliff rescuer, gym instructor, first aider and diver. I have also been interested in trials and enduro riding from a young age. I have been through a number of bikes some really clapped out and some acceptable but none new! The list includes Ossa 250, Montessa 250, IT 175, Maico 250, KTM 495 and various XTs.
I have now decided to embark on an expedition that has been an ambition of mine for many years – a circumnavigation of Africa by motorbike. The trip will involve travelling through 28 countries and covering more than 40,000 kilometres (25,000 miles) of the most difficult riding terrain and through some of the most unstable countries on earth. I will have to negotiate not only desert conditions (The Sahara, Tenere, Nubian and Namib) but traverse the unhospitable mud soaked jungle terrain of West Africa.
Although completing the trip would be an achievement in itself I have decided to try and raise £28,000 for Save The Children making this endeavour infinitely more worthwhile. Due to the difficult nature of the trip and the ambitious fundraising target I have been lucky enough to be designated as an ‘extra-ordinary fundraiser’. This is a great help but also intensifies the pressure.
The merits of Save The Children are self-evident as ALL children deserve proper healthcare, food, education and protection. I hope I can help in a small way.
I will be undertaking the trip solo and completely unsupported on the cheapest possible budget – camping all the way and relying on the hospitality of the local people. I will be starting my journey on 1st November 2009.
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